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Fine-grained rock fabric facies classification and its control on shale oil accumulation: a case study from the Paleogene Kong 2 Member, Bohai Bay Basin

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Abstract

Lacustrine shale oil resources in China are abundant, with remarkable exploration breakthroughs being achieved. Compared to marine shale oil in North America, efficient exploration of lacustrine shale oil is more difficult; thus, selecting favorable layer and optimization zone for horizontal wells is more important. In this study, based on systematic coring of approximately 500 m fine-grained deposits of the Kong 2 Member, combining laboratory tests and log data, source rock geochemistry and reservoir physical properties, the favorable rock fabric facies for oil accumulation was analyzed and classified. First, the dominant lithologic facies, organic facies, and bed combination facies were determined based on mineral composition from logging, total organic content (TOC), and sedimentary structure. Secondly, 10 fabric facies were classified by combining these three facies, with 4 fabric facies were found to have high TOC content, high total hydrocarbon, and strong fluorescence features, indicating good shale oil enrichment. Thirdly, the distribution of the upon good fabric facies was identified to be located at the top of the Kong 2 Member, with evidences of seismic resistivity inversion, thermal maturity, structure depth, and strata thickness. And the favorable facies were found to be stably distributed lateral at the area of about 100 km2. High oil flow has been detected at this layer within this area by several wells, including horizontal wells. The exploratory study of fabric facies classification and evaluation provides a new research idea for lacustrine shale oil exploration and effectively promotes breakthroughs in lacustrine shale oil exploration in Bohai Bay Basin.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by PetroChina Major Science and Technology Project “Research and Application of Key Technology for Efficient Reservoir Increase and Stable Production in Dagang Oil and Gas Field” (2018E-11). We extend gratitude to the PetroChina Dagang Oilfield Company for providing data and granting permission to publish this paper. The authors also thank Professor Yan J. H. for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Science and technology, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, China

    Wenzhong Han & Shiyue Chen

  2. Dagang Oil Field Company of PetroChina, Tianjin, 300280, China

    Wenzhong Han, Xianzheng Zhao, Xiugang Pu, Hu Wang, Zhannan Shi, Wei Zhang & Jiapeng Wu

  3. Key Laboratory of Exploration Technologies for Oil and Gas Resources (Ministry of Education), Yangtze University, Wuhan, 430100, China

    Yan Liu

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  1. Wenzhong Han
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  2. Xianzheng Zhao
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  4. Shiyue Chen
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  5. Hu Wang
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  6. Yan Liu
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  7. Zhannan Shi
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  8. Wei Zhang
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  9. Jiapeng Wu
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Correspondence to Shiyue Chen.

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Han, W., Zhao, X., Pu, X. et al. Fine-grained rock fabric facies classification and its control on shale oil accumulation: a case study from the Paleogene Kong 2 Member, Bohai Bay Basin. Front. Earth Sci. 15, 423–437 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-020-0867-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-020-0867-4

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